The Home Energy Saver Mission Statement

This page describes the overall mission of the Home Energy Saver project as well as ways in which private sector software developers and others can tap our content and calculation engine.

Mission

The Home Energy Saver web site (HES, http://HomeEnergySaver.lbl.gov) is an interactive do-it-yourself home energy assessment tool, combined with extensive decision-support content. Its aims are support national initiatives to increase consumer interest in energy efficiency and to foster market activities that capture those opportunities. The site is developed and maintained by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory with sponsorship from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and others. HES supports the federal energy mission by helping to build national recognition of the ENERGY STAR brand and other federal programs, and by enabling consumers to quantify the associated energy savings and environmental benefits. The site is also used periodically by students and researchers as a tool for analyzing residential energy performance issues, and for learning from actual homeowners about their experiences with implementing energy-saving upgrades.

The following objectives guide the development of the HES web site:

Cost-Effective National Energy Policy - Provide economical methods to help achieve the national goals of improved energy efficiency and pollution prevention.

Maximal Consumer Benefits - Increase consumer access to the results of previous taxpayer-funded energy information products and to research & development on energy efficiency.

Widespread Applicability - Ensure relevance to the diversity of U.S. climate conditions and housing stock, and other regions. Comprehensive coverage of all energy end-uses in homes.

Transparency of Assumptions - Fully documented and based on non-proprietary assumptions/algorithms.

Use of Latest Internet Technology - Use state-of-the-art technologies for web-based energy calculators and interfaces, and provide technology transfer to private sector software developers. Port existing code to modern framework (PHP) for improved robustness and maintainability.

Ease of Use - Facilitate a positive and time-efficient user experience, and access to other relevant public and private web sites.

Support for Private-Sector Vendors of Energy-Efficient Products, Services, and Tools

The Home Energy Saver is a non-proprietary website developed on behalf of public agencies charged with building public awareness of energy efficiency. User traffic is around one million visits per year. We encourage other sites to link to us at no charge, and we welcome proposals for reciprocal links. No special permission is required for linking to the site.

An important aspect of our mission is to complement and enhance private sector business activities within the context of our mission. This is a natural extension of the technology transfer role that LBNL has played in the market for energy-efficient technologies and tools over the past 35 years.

While the HES website does not endorse specific products or websites, it does actively help consumers reach the web pages of businesses that are active in this arena.

Private-sector software developers have expressed interest in collaborating with HES. There are various ways to organize such technology transfer:

The HES calculation methods and underlying data are clearly documented through the HES About page, and in the open literature. Other web-based tool developers are welcome to use this information at no cost, providing that the source is properly credited.

We are currently developing a licensable Application Programming Interface (API) that will allow third parties to develop their own user interfaces powered by the HES engine.

Within the HES resides a qualified repository of links to hundreds of relevant web sites through the LEARN tab. Private-sector developers may wish to tap this repository for use within their own sites, or simply offer reciprocal links between sites. Users benefit from the value-added that LBNL offers in the recruitment of links, and in maintaining the resource.

The HES site also contains a significant amount of LBNL-authored content, such as FAQs, Help documents, and descriptions of retrofit measures. Private tool developers may wish to link to this material.

Our approach is necessarily as dynamic as the energy efficiency marketplace itself, and of the Internet as a media and information technology. We endeavor to update the Home Energy Saver website to keep pace with these developments. Interested individuals are encouraged to contact us with their ideas and suggestions.